Cute Makeup Tips

I wish I could have picked all of you because everyone had such great reasons for being a makeup junkie! Thank you to everyone that has become a fan of Makeup Junkie and I hope you continue to stay fans! You guys are all awesome! And thank you for the birthday wishes!

Baharak, enjoy the wonderful glosses from Three Custom Color: Mango, Dahlia, and Simply Beautiful! You will love them as much as I do! And have fun picking out the yummy scented bath and body products from bobe (beyond ordinary bath essentials)!! I love the Frosted Sugar Cookie scent! You'll receive 2 $25 gift certificates! I'll be emailing you shortly with details! Enjoy and Happy Easter everyone!

Just wanted to send a reminder out about my birthday give away! Thank you to those that have participated, but if you haven't yet you still have time! The winner will be chosen on my birthday, March 21st! If you haven't tried products from Three Custom Color or bobe (beyond ordinary bath essentials) then this is a fantastic opportunity! For details on how to enter and background info on the products click here! Good luck! Thank you for all your support and the early b-day wishes! xoxo

I'll be celebrating a birthday this month and to make it a special one I wanted to give back to you, the readers, whom I adore! It's been quite a year for me and to celebrate I'm giving away a beautilicious give away!

Prize: The winner will receive 3 full size lip glosses from one of my favourite brands Three Custom Color! I am a HUGE fan of Three Custom's glosses and I wanted to share the experience with you! The glosses will come in 3 shades perfect for Spring: Dahlia, a vibrant blue-based pink, Mango, a gorgeous coral, and Simply Beautiful, the perfect neutral for anyone! To read my reviews on Three Custom click here.

That's not all! The winner will also receive 2 $25 gift certificates to one of my fave bath and body lines bobe (beyond ordinary bath essentials)! You will be able to select any product of your choice and choose from a huge list of yummy scents and flavours! To read my reviews on bobe click here.

All you have to do to be eligible is subscribe to my site by clicking here. If you already subscribe then you're half way there! Then email me at joy@makeupjunkie.ca with your name, the email address you used to subscribe to my site, and what makes you a makeup junkie! Easy right? The winner will be selected on my birthday, March 21st, so be sure to check back to find out if you've won! Good luck!

A HUGE thank you to Three Custom Color and bobe for sponsoring my birthday give away!

Bobe (beyond ordinary bath essentials) is bringing back Totally Indie coupon packages! What's totally indie? It's a collective group of independent designers & businesses that have joined to bring our wonderful customers exclusive deals!

How do I get the coupons? All bobe orders over $20 will receive this package of 40 coupons for hip indie businesses (including bobebathessentials.com). They will be available all year until the supply has been depleted.

The fine print: Limit of 1 coupon package & usage of the savings code per customer.

Also check out bobe's newest fragrances! Happy shopping!

There's a gift for every woman whether she is a busy mom, glam girl, or trendsetter. My gift ideas are some of the best products I've tried this year or from brands that I've loved for years. So, if you know of a friend, sister, aunt, mom, or grandmother that is a makeup junkie or is in some major need of a makeup update check out the list and check it twice there just might be the perfect gift!


1. Makeup Junkie: I'm not speaking about myself (well maybe a little) but for every woman that hoards makeup in every nook of their house! Makeup junkies love trying multiple products at a time so holiday collections are perfect! Some makeup collections I'm lusting after: Nars Night Series Mini Palette, Nars J. Mendel Lip Palette, Nars Dolce Vita Set, Benefit's Powder Pop!, Sephora's Supermodel Kit, and Stila's Face Contouring Trio.


2. Busy Mom: I call this the 'mommy essentials'. As a busy mom, I've been able to cut down my makeup application to half the time I used to (something my husband really appreciates!). Four easy things busy moms can do: even out skin tone where needed, open up the eyes, and add colour to lips and cheeks. Quick and easy and you still end up looking polished. I used to use a tinted moisturizer and it was great but then my skin started to change after I had my son. To give me more coverage without feeling heavy or cakey, I switched to Face Atelier's Ultra Foundations (LOVE! Don't forget about the 25% with Face Atelier until Dec. 31st! Enter discount code 'makeupjunkie'). Lack of sleep most of the time equals dark undereye circles. I love Smashbox's Photo Op Under Eye Brightner because it makes my under eye look luminous, diffuses fine lines and slightly conceals. Over top of it, I have to apply my YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch because it is the perfect undereye concealer (for me and I've tried so many!). I never leave the house without curling my lashes with my Shu Uemera eye lash curler (heard Billy B.'s is great for smaller eyes) and applying a couple coats of L'oreal Voluminous mascara. It just opens up the eyes and makes you look more awake. To brighten up the eye, I just add Nars' Duo Cream Shadow in Thebes, a silver and gold with shimmer, to the inner corner of the eyes and center of lid. For a little colour, double a bronzer like Benefit's Hoola as cheek colour and for an overall healthy glow. Swipe a gloss like Nars' Stolen Kisses on the lips - my favourite neutral gloss! The busy mom will think you are a life saver (or time saver). It's really a perfect collection for anyone on-the-go!


3. Glam Girl: Everyone has a glam look busy mom or not and I love to do it up every now and then. Whether you have a fetish for a smokey eye or feel sexy in a red pout, Pink Beauty Cosmetics is the perfect line for every glam girl! I just felt so pretty and girly using Pink Beauty! I'm lusting after Luscious Lip Sheer in Beatrice, a deep red and Lip Scintillate Lip Gloss in Fabulah, a rich shimmery red. Whatever your definition of glam is Pink Beauty will definitely have something for you.

Photo: Content in On Makeup Magazine!
4. The Makeup Artist: Makeup artists can be very particular about their makeup and tools. Your best bet is to just ask her what she wants but if you want to surprise her I can help you out! Some brands that makeup artist love and rave about are of course M.A.C., Make Up For Ever, Face Atelier, Billy B. Beauty (tools and brushes), Three Custom Color, MudShop, Nars, to name a few. There are so many pro makeup lines and a great resource for more pro brands is The Powder Group. Another great gift makeup artists love are magazine subscriptions and The Powder Group is launching On Makeup Magazine next February! I've been waiting for a magazine that was makeup artist related and all about makeup! The MudShop also has some really great books you can purchase for the working makeup artist or the makeup artist newbie!


5. Trendsetter: Trendsetters like to be ahead of the game and have a style all of their own. M.A.C. has always been one step ahead and is perfect for the woman that likes to stand out in a crowd. They have their amazing Holiday collections but for a trendsetter I'd get her something from the Metal X collection that will make her shine above the rest. Glitter eye liner and metallic cream to powder shadows - need I say more??


6. The Minimalist: Minimalists like no fuss multi-purpose products that they don't have to reapply during the day and don't care for a lot of makeup - just enough to look healthy and radiant. Perfect line for a minimalist is Benefit Cosmetics which is known for their quick and easy fixes. Popular items that I love: Benetint Pocket Pal, Rush Hour, Eyeliner Gilded, and Dandelion.

Photo: Organic Body Bar in Ocean Minerals
7. The Globally Conscious: You can still care about the environment and be self-indulgent thanks to Tashodi, a Canadian based bath and body line that is committed to producing products that are fairly traded, organic, all natural and green friendly! I received 100% Pure and Certified Fair Trade Lip and Cheek Tints in Full of Fairness Pink. It is meant to keep your lips moisturized with a bit of colour and tint your cheek to its natural hue. I prefer it more as a lip balm because it is very moisturizing and I like the sheer pink colour on the lips as well as the spearmint and peppermint flavour. Keeps my breath feeling fresh! I also got to try their Organic Body Bar in Ocean Minerals, an invigorating eucalyptus and lemon blend. I love how you can exfoliate with the Celtic sea salt and moisturize with the fair trade shea butter at the same time! And for the first time I soaked in the bath at my new house! I received their Pure Bath Soaks in Pure Lavender, a mix of pure lavender aroma and moisturizing benefits in their fair trade cocoa butter shavings. Truly a pampering experience! What's also cool about the Pure Bath Soaks is that it comes in a really nice jar that I can use for whatever my heart's desire! To top it off, the packaging and promotional material are made from plant fibers and are biodegradable and recyclable!


8. Bath and Body Connoisseur: I love having yummy smelling soft skin. I had the pleasure of trying Bobe (pronounced "beau-bee") products a few months ago and I use it every day! If you're looking for great quality products at affordable prices then Bobe is the perfect gift. I recommend anything from their line because they come in so many enticing flavours and scents! My favourite from the line is the Silken Cream body butter. And at $8 (CDN) for a 4.5 ounce jar you can't go wrong!

Hope the list will give you some holiday gift ideas and make your shopping experience stress-free! And as always don't forget to give back to the community or to your favourite charities! :) Happy shopping!

Bobe you ask? No, it's not a typo. Bobe (pronounced beau-bee), is a fairly new Canadian bath and body line that has me swooning! The line was launched in 2006 by Marlese Sears, who has been so gracious to me. The story behind the name Bobe, an acronym for "beyond ordinary bath essentials", is just adorable. It started out as a funny family memory of a misspelled pet name. Their pet fish was to be "Bobby" but was misspelled "Bobe" and the name has stuck with her ever since.

You'll be tickled sweet with how many yummy scents her products come in. Bath and body products come in 50 scents and lip balms come in 70 scents! And would you believe that the products are made fresh at the time you place your order? That's definitely beyond ordinary. What's also beyond ordinary is that every month Bobe gives 5% of retail sales to a different charity!


I was excited when I received Bobe's Silken Cream in "Chai Tea Party, the Sugared Frosting Scrub in "Raspberry Lemonade" and Bobe Lip Balm in "Vanilla Soft Serve". I am a sucker for scented products and when I took a sniff of each I was amazed that they smelled exactly like its name! The Sugared Frosting ($8 CAD) is literally like rubbing sugar all over your body. Now that it's getting colder out and my skin is getting dryer, the scrub has been the best remedy. My skin is left feeling velvety soft. The smell of raspberry lemonade is intoxicating in a good way of course. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the scent when I first saw it but as soon as I opened the lid my mouth watered. Ok, what I'm about to admit is embarrassing but I've been known to do this. I took a little taste! It actually tasted pretty edible!


I don't think I've ever come across a chai scented body product and I was pleasantly surprised. The Silken Cream ($8 CAD) is soooo moisturizing and left my skin silky smooth and not greasy. It's a definite must for the winter season. The scent isn't overpowering but you can definitely smell the chai (although my husband thinks it smells like pumpkin).


I love anything vanilla scented so when I received the "Vanilla Soft Served" lip balm I was as giddy as a school girl! The scent is amazing and most of the time I find myself licking it off. It's pretty moisturizing but because I have really dry lips I find I have to keep reapplying every few minutes or so. Yah, my lips are that dry especially in the winter. It doesn't leave my lips as moisturized as my Rosebud Salve or Murad's Soothing Lip Therapy. But the heavenly scent is just too hard to resist that I don't mind reapplying! And at $3.75 (CAD) a pop you might as well buy all the scents!
*Tip: I buy a soft bristle tooth brush just for exfoliating the dead skin off my lips. Dampen the brush with warm water and exfoliate in a circular motion.

I'm really excited about this brand and I think it will have a strong following of scented bath and body fiends like me. It's Canadian, inexpensive, is beyond ordinary, unbelievable quality, gives back to the community, and has every scent you can think of! My kind of product. Oh, and Bobe has even adjusted it's Canadian price to reflect the value of our Looney! Next on my want list: Soy Fabulous Whipped Body Butter in "Frosted Sugar Cookie", Sugared Frosting Scrub in "Cupcake", and Lip Balm in "Carnival Candy Apple". So scrub up, slather away, and tantalize your senses with its yummy scents this winter season and any season! Happy shopping!

To view the entire bath and body line and sumptuous scents click here.